Lab Language
by lilsquishy03
Summary: Peter didn’t know what to say in these situations. Luckily Mr. Stark gave him a conversation starter.


**Hey ya'll. This is my first fanfic, and I know it's not great but ya know, trying to get experience. Anywho, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, and tell me what you think in the comments. **

Peter wasn't sure what to say. He was used to filling any quiet space with incessant chatter, but that didn't seem like the right thing to do when one was in the same lab as the Tony Stark, Iron Man, the man he's looked up to since like, ever. Mr. Stark had invited him to come work with him in the lab, making updates to his suit and such. Peter was currently working on his web shooters while Mr. Stark made adjustments to his Iron Man gauntlets.

It's not like Peter didn't want to say something, start a conversation or just fill the silence, but Mr. Stark was kind of intimidating and-

"So how was school today?" Mr. Stark said, cutting off his thought process.

"Um, it was alright, I had a Chemistry test, and I-I think I did alright" Peter managed to stutter out. Gosh, he sounded like such an idiot, who talks about a Chemistry test when you're in the same room as Iron Man? They lapsed back into silence, the only noise being the AC/DC music playing quietly in the background.

Peter just sighed internally at the awkwardness, probably caused by himself, and went back to fiddling with his web shooters.

"_Wow I really don't know how to talk to kids, I mean_ _how was your day at school? I couldn't sound older_ _if I started calling him sonny" _Peter heard Mr. Stark mumble under his breath… in Italian?

"_Do you speak Italian, Mr. Stark?"_ Peter asked aloud in the aforementioned language. He swore he saw Mr. Stark blush slightly.

"_Umm, yes, and I guess you do too, and just heard_ _everything I just said?"_ Peter just nodded shyly. "_Where did you learn?"_

"_My Aunt May taught me, she's Italian."_

_"I see, my mother was Italian and spoke it to me all_ _the time_" Mr. Stark had put down his tools and was now focusing on Peter.

They continued their conversation for the rest of the night, and Peter felt ecstatic! He could practically jump up and down! He was having a full, competent, conversation with Tony Stark! Ned was gonna flip when he heard about this!

After their first, somewhat awkward, day in Tony's lab, he had invited Peter to come up once a week just to tinker with stuff and make updates to his suit. They continued conversing in Italian, and it drove Pepper and Happy up the wall, which made it even better in Tony's eyes. He had gotten to know the kid much better, and was surprised to realise that he'd come to anticipate and look forward to the days when Peter would come up and fill the silence that had once been present in the lab.

After this realization, his offer of once a week turned into whenever Peter wanted. He especially made sure the kid knew to call him if he ever needed help, in or out of the suit. But he was still surprised and had to admit that his heart rate sped up when he got a distress call from Peter's suit.

He immediately called his suit and followed the signal sent by Karen. He worried the entire way there, what if Peter had gotten hurt as Spider-Man, what if he was dying or had been drugged and kidnapped? When he reached the place of the signal, he found Peter lying prone in the alleyway, blood pouring out of an open wound in his stomach.

"FRIDAY, scan him for injuries, and call my medical team, tell them to get ready" he gasped out, still staring at the prostrate figure. He looked so pale, and shouldn't he be moving? He was always such an active figure, filling up the tower with color and light-

"Boss, he's lost a lot of blood and has several broken ribs" Tony's thoughts were stopped by FRIDAY's report. He gently landed next to Peter's form, and carefully sealed the wound and braced his ribs, then gingerly picked him up. Taking off, Tony's heart was pounding in his chest and his breath was coming in short bursts. He had never noticed how light and small Peter was. He never thought the kid could be this still. There was so much blood, more than it seemed such a small person could make.

He arrived at the tower and burst into medical where the doctors were waiting, stepping out of his suit. They took Peter from Tony's arms and rushed him into a room. And just like that Tony was alone with his thoughts. He sat down heavily in a chair. How could he have let this happen? Wasn't he supposed to be like, a mentor to the kid? Good mentors don't let their proteges bleed out in random alleys. Why was he even trying? Wasn't he just going to get Peter hurt or killed just like everyone else in his life? Right, because he was selfish and needed the happiness the kid brought when he smiled, or said something witty in Tony's mother's language. He didn't think he could go back to not having that in his life, it was something he hadn't felt with anyone else. He had gotten more attached to Peter than he had realised. So Tony put his head in his hands, resting his elbows on his knees and waited for news on the kid he realised had become more than just an intern from Queens.

"Mr. Stark? Mr. Parker is out of surgery and you can go see him-" Tony was out of his chair before the doctor could finish his sentence. He ran into the room the doctor had just vacated and saw Peter lying on the bed. He was again struck by the wrongness of the picture. Peter was not supposed to be so still, he was supposed to be full of energy and positivity and life. Tony walked over to the bed and took a chair.

"_Hey kid. So you got kinda banged up, and now you're here, but you're gonna be okay according to the doctors. You should wake up soon, though. You haven't finished helping me build that update for my suit, and I'm ordering pizza when you get up, so better make it soon." _Tony saw Peter's eyelids fluttera bit before opening

_"Hmmmmm, yeah, okay, pizza sounds good. Thanks for coming for me Mr. Stark."_


End file.
